Massachusetts bogs generate both power, and cranberries

For the first time in the United States’ history, farmers are growing cranberries underneath solar panels. Dual-use solar allows Massachusetts farmers to build solar panels above farmland, resulting in land that can generate energy and food simultaneously. The strategy is one way Massachusetts is advancing toward its goal of net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. 

“Solar can be particularly advantageous for cranberry farmers in Massachusetts, which grows more of the fruit than any state other than Wisconsin. While sheep farms and cornfields can often be sold to housing or commercial developers, cranberry bogs are protected wetlands: Even if they go out of production, they cannot be built on. Not all bogs are well placed to connect to the grid, but for those that are, solar panels can be a financial lifeline,” Sarah Shemkus writes for Grist.

It took some trial-and-error to determine how deep to set the foundations of the solar arrays, as developers had to dig deeper than usual to find solid ground in the cranberry bogs. Developers also had to place the foundations further apart than normal to ensure farm equipment could still navigate the bogs.